In general, a portable terminal is divided into a variety of types according to its opening and closing method, such as a flip type in which a cover is mounted to a body, a folder type in which a folder provided with display screen is mounted to a body, a slide type in which a display unit provided with a display screen is opened or closed in a slide method. As a terminal provides various services, a folder rotation type providing a wide screen for viewing video or video communication has been being developed and released.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a folder rotation type portable terminal in accordance with the conventional art.
As shown in FIG. 1, the portable terminal in accordance with the conventional art includes: a terminal body 110 having a printed circuit board (PCB) provided with various circuit components and having a keypad 102 at its front surface; a display unit 120 rotatably connected to an upper end of the terminal body 110 and provided with a display screen 122 for displaying information desired by a user; and a hinge unit 130 installed between the terminal body 110 and the display unit 120, for rotating the display unit 120 relative to the terminal body 110 and also disposing the display unit 120 crosswise by rotating the display unit at a right angle so that a wide screen is offered.
The hinge unit 130 includes: a first hinge portion 132 for rotatably connecting the display unit 120 with the terminal body 110; and a second hinge portion 134 connected to the first hinge portion 132, for disposing the display unit 120 crosswise by rotating the display unit 120 at a right angle so that the display unit 120 is presented in a wide screen mode.
In the folder rotation type portable terminal in accordance with the conventional art having such a structure, the display unit 120 can be opened and closed relative to the terminal body 110 by the first hinge portion 132, and the display unit 120 is disposed crosswise by being rotated at a right angle by the second hinge portion 132.
However, the folder rotation type portable terminal in accordance with the conventional art having such a structure is disadvantageous in that various functions cannot be provided because the terminal body 110 is disposed lengthwise all the time, although the display unit is rotated at a right angle and disposed crosswise.
Namely, the terminal body 110 cannot be rotated and thus cannot be disposed crosswise, which makes it inconvenient for the user to manipulate the keys when functions requiring many key manipulations, such as a game, are carried out.